4 Home Energy Facts You Need to Know

Posted on Oct 31, 2011 in Energy Efficiency by Matthew Speer 0 Comments

U.S. families spend roughly $1,900 per year on home energy bills and much of that energy is wasted. Energy efficiency is a goal every American should strive for and in order to set that goal we have to better understand the facts behind home energy. Here we will explore 4 recent facts on home energy in the United States and how your efforts could help change these facts for the better in the years to come.

Energy Facts You Need to Know

Home Energy Fact #1: Every year about $1 in every $5 is spent on home energy. This equates to $241 billion per year that that the average American spends on powering their homes. Amazingly this figure could be cut in half by implementing some basic energy efficiency improvements.

Home Energy Fact #2: The indoor air quality within our homes is often worse than that found outdoors. This is because of the fumes from the materials used during construction among other hidden causes like moisture pollute the air. With 90% of your time being spent indoors this should be a cause for concern. Energy efficient upgrades can improve the air quality and make your home more healthy and comfortable.

Home Energy Fact #3: Staying warm is expensive, with 31% of the home energy utilization going towards space heating. This outweighs the home cooling expenses which averages 10% of the total spend. In some cases electricity and other sources of heat production are used together to move heat around your home. For example your heat pump could use natural gas to heat up the air and then use electricity to push it through your vents; in essence this is a double dip.

Home Energy Fact #4: Producing the energy to power your home is a filthy process, so dirty that 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse-gas emissions are pumped into the air each year in the U.S. alone. Each minor contribution made to saving energy can reduce this pollution.

Energy efficiency can start with reducing demand on home energy which will lower energy bills and help reduce the greenhouse-gases released into the atmosphere. Find out where you stand and review your utility bills and see how much you consume, could you reduce that consumption?